When there’s a proven tenet for success, very seldom does someone deviate from it. But you and I know that when a given formula stagnates and gives minimum returns, you’ve got to change it. It’s a similar saga that the marketing world is facing at the moment. With every industry parallel going into a major cutback spree, it’s really no surprise that marketing has not escaped the axe. Of all the processes of selling one’s goods to the consumer, marketing has been one of the most exciting, but expensive routes.

Hoardings, television space, a page in the magazine or newspaper; they’ve been surefire advertising channels. Hitting the audience on the face, they are really pretty hard not to notice. Companies obviously didn’t mind shelling out huge portions of the budget for advertising, since they were certain about its worth and returns. Things are slowly beginning to change now though. People are no more as receptive to direct marketing as before. I guess it probably irritates them and does quite the opposite of what it originally meant to do.

That has sent some obvious signals to marketers that they need to think of other alternatives of methods more subtle and effective. This has brought them to the doorstep of online marketing. So, in times when everything online means maximum audience visibility, what else but Internet marketing could be a better option. Most of us now believe that personal websites, blog sites, RSS feeds, are understated approaches to build loyalty among prospective consumers.

Happened to spot venture capitalist Doug Leone’s (of Sequoia Capital) quote that says, “Be aggressive with your messaging and be out there. In a downturn, aggressive PR and communications strategy is key.” Some companies have taken this really seriously and have done well with their online marketing tactics. Proctor and Gamble’s online community for adolescent girls BeingGirl.com, is considered four times as effective as a similarly priced marketing program in traditional media.

Check out what this Nielson Online study states “The good news is that we saw large gains from brand advertisers including Anheuser-Busch, Unilever, Toyota and General Motors, among others, which bodes well for the future.” Most big guns are joining the bandwagon of BTL marketing admirers. The preference shift from ATL to BTL could be reasoned out like this- consumers have the advantage of making on-the-spot purchases, and advertisers can target definite site visitors that suit their scheme of things. The most to benefit are apparently portals like Yahoo, Google, AOL and Microsoft, whose collective ad revenue growth measures up to 19%.

Surveys say that online media spending this year has increased by 63%, in comparison to traditional marketing, which has only increased by 13%. Before the financial fallout, online market research specialists had estimated that advertisers would spend $25.8 billion online this year. I’m sure the numbers would have definitely dropped by now, but it is still the preferred marketing mode. Even Steven Fredericks, president and CEO of TNS Media Intelligence thinks that increased use of the Internet is taking away dollars from traditional media.

A good case in point of Internet marketing popularity is the usage of blogs; they have become a media unto themselves. People who like a blogger’s content will very likely place their trust in his words and opinions. It’s more of a persuasive form of marketing than a forceful and promotional kind. Similarly, RSS news feeds about your company or sales offers have a great reach in the web world. You know, it’s like dangling the carrot and enticing readers to visit your website.

People have been very responsive to these new tactics, thereby strengthening company beliefs in online marketing. No wonder the cut that Internet marketing gets in allocated budgets is increasing despite the global economy plunge.